Virgin Australia or United 787 transpacific business

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republicau

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Aug 28, 2007
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Hi,

Not sure if this is the correct spot to post this question.........booking 2 pax in J Melbourne to New York december 2014. Two good price options with Delta (Virgin metal transpacific then Delta domestic first) or United 787 to LAX then 757 to JFK. Any thought on the best option would be appreciated. Have not flown United for 20 years but heard they still suffer from the same general laziness and poor customer service today as they did then.

many thanks

R
 
Food and service will be much better on VA but I believe UA has a better seat. I would take VA personally.
 
Have not flown United for 20 years but heard they still suffer from the same general laziness and poor customer service today as they did then..
You many have the same FA's on the current flight as you did 2 decades ago

Does UA or VA/DL have a better schedule? For me the departure & arrival times are important
 
Does UA or VA/DL have a better schedule? For me the departure & arrival times are important

I would agree that departure times and schedule could be worth thinking about.

But my opinion would be more about the seat rather than the service/food, especially for the long transpacific flight - for MEL-LAX your bum is in the seat for 14-16hrs, how much time are you experiencing the food and service if you are resting or asleep? Maybe 2hrs? If the UA B787 J class seats are better than the VA B777 J seats and you are talking hundreds of dollars or even one thousand $ difference in fares then you are paying extra $$ for 2 or three J class meals.

Just did a quick ballpark price check for random MEL-LAX return dates in Jan 2014 - prices were around:

DL and VA $6965 return (on VA B777 service), UA B787 service $6965 and QF $7510 for the A380. These prices exclude the LAX-JFK leg so it appears everyone is asking the same amount of $$ for transpacific MEL-LAX except for QF slightly higher price due to the A380 effect.


As for the LAX-JFK transcon - all the major carriers including DL and UA are running a mixed bag of old and new Business class hard products so it will be a bit of a lottery, just like Australian transcon business class.

This link here has some useful pictures:

The Transcon Wars: The Ultimate Airline Battleground | Airchive
 
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united will get you to nyc before 2100 then you got to go to hotel so maybe 2300 hrs

delta and qantas will get you to nyc before 1800 hrs.

on timing i would go DL /QF

Really need to get to West coast USA by 0700 to get to East coast USA before 1800.

Only DL and QF can do that

VA a bit behind DL
And I would get DL all on one ticket or VA+DL on one ticket or QF107
 
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